Astronomia
by Miss Mairin
Summary: Yamaguchi loves theater. Tsukishima loves astronomy. Tsukishima is really good at acting, and Yamaguchi has constellations of freckles.
1. Chapter 1

_Astronomia_

Chapter 1

The first time I ever saw Tsukishima was at one of the school plays I performed in. He was in the club room, working on set design for our play Almost, Maine. I don't think I could ever forget the meeting. Even now, I can see him clear as day: eyebrows furrowed in concentration, carefully plotting the stars for the night sky. Apparently, the theater club had asked him - very nicely, of course - if he could do the set design. The club wanted it to be accurate, constellations and stars all in the right place. Who better to ask than one of the most prominent members of the astronomy club?

I played Pete, one of only two recurring characters. It was a pretty big deal - I had never been cast as a lead before. In the years before high school, I had always been a minor character, or sometimes even just a tree. Because of that, I went through some really childish stuff.

My dad would always be angry, "A minor role again, Tadashi?!"

Why was he always so angry?

My mom, though she thought it was comforting, would remark, "Oh, Tadashi! You'll get the star role eventually!"

It wasn't comforting; I could tell she was disappointed.

And my classmates… They were the worst. There were the obvious insults, "Fag! You're so gay! Seriously, you're like, the only guy in the theater club!" I understood those, I heard other guys in the club be called that, but what I could never fathom is why my classmates would care that I would get minor roles… "Are you that bad, that you still can't get a leading role? Ha! LOSER!"

Honestly, it was a blessing that I was cast as the leading male role. At the time, I thought it was a godsend only because it was finally the star role, but now I'm grateful because it gave me Tsukishima as well, however insignificant those small meetings were…

* * *

><p>… Tadashi shuffled into the club room, eager to start play practice. Even though a few practices had already flown by, he was still glowing with happiness at the prospect of his role. Looking around, he had expected more of a gathering before everything started, but the area was severely lacking in students. There were a few milling around, of course, but there was a blond teenager who caught his eye. Tadashi had never seen him before, and it was too late to come in as an actor…<p>

"Hi! My name is Yamaguchi Tadashi!" he cheerfully announced, suddenly appearing at the other teen's side. "I haven't seen you around here before, so…" Tadashi continued, rocking back and forth on his heels. Yes, he was friendly and a good person all around, but people made him nervous. Especially people he didn't know, and he definitely didn't know this person.

The blond glanced up from his work to Tadashi. Of course, Tadashi took that moment to realize that the blond was, indeed, busy painting.

"Oh! I'm sorry," he fumbled in apology, "I didn't realize you were busy!" The other continued to look at Tadashi, a bored expression on his face. The two stared at each other silently for a few moments, before the teenager turned back to the canvas.

Mentally scolding himself for being awkward, the actor took a long look at the painting. It was beautiful, that's all there was to it. Extraordinarily beautiful. The canvas was enormous, wider than it was tall, and it was covered in a lush dark blue paint. The dark blue was dotted with whitish yellow spots that seemed to form different silhouettes. Seconds later, Tadashi felt like hitting himself. He finally put two and two together. The canvas is the night sky for the play, the silhouettes being constellations. He could easily pick out the big dipper, and the milky way, even some of the zodiac constellations.

"Wow," he breathed out shakily. It was incredible, the design was so intricate and remarkably made. "This is stunning. Makes me wish I was an artist, not an actor."

"You're an actor?" the blond questioned without turning around, completely ignoring the compliment. He finished up another constellation, one Tadashi didn't recognize.

"Yeah. I play Pete," he explained. When the other teen didn't say anything, he continued, "Um, one of the recurring characters in the play."

"Huh," he grunted, purely to acknowledge Tadashi. They were quiet once again, the blond painting more stars, and him enjoying watching them be painted. The teen had dipped his paint brush in the paint twelve times, not that Tadashi had been counting, when he heard a chuckle that could have only come from the other. He knit his brows in confusion, and was about to ask what was funny when the boy talked once more.

"Usually people would have left by now," he noted with a smirk. "Does my ignoring you not bother you?"

"Oh, not really," Tadashi smiled slightly. "I was admiring your work, and silence isn't exactly new to me."

"Huh," he repeated, and they again fell into silence. In the few minutes they had been together, it had morphed into somewhat of a routine. He would paint, Tadashi would watch, they would converse for a few seconds, and lapse back into quiet. It worked, for both of them.

"Hey, Yams!" A voice called from behind the two teenagers. The boy in questioned turned around and saw the theater manager waving him over. "We're ready to get started! Let's go!"

Tadashi nodded in acknowledgement as the manager turned around and left. He began to leave as well, before being stopped by a voice.

"My name's Tsukishima Kei," the voice mumbled. Tadashi smiled: finally, a name to a face.

"Well, I'll be seeing you around, Tsukishima," he grinned in response. He jogged off, rushing to catch up with the manager and the rest of the group.

If he had been facing Tsukishima, Tadashi would have seen a small smirk and an eyeroll.

* * *

><p>The next time that we met, though not the second time I saw Tsukishima, was also unforgettable. I had just finished my first school-wide performance of Almost, Maine. I was proud of myself, I thought I did an amazing job. The entire play was well done, and of course the set design was a big part of it. All of the cast got a round of applause, and I did as well.<p>

But not everyone agreed. Honestly, I thought after I got a lead role, my classmates would leave me alone, after all, I couldn't be made fun of for a minor role anymore. Boy, was I wrong. Not only did they not leave me alone, but there were more of them than ever.

Why?

What did I ever do wrong?...

* * *

><p>… Making his way to the courtyard for lunch, Tadashi felt himself be pushed roughly against the wall. His head hit hard, a dizzy spell immediately coming over him. Panicked and wide eyes, he looked around frightfully, taking a quick count of four. Four guys.<p>

"H-hey guys, what's up?" he tried weakly, to no avail. He felt fist connect with his abdomen and he coughed violently.

"Shut up, faggot," one of the bigger guys ordered. Tadashi complied quickly in order to keep the pain to a minimum. "So… I went to your play, for extra credit for English," he continued harshly, a smirk evident in his voice as Tadashi turned white.

"Turned out not only are you shitty at acting," he snarled, as the rest of them chuckled, "but the girl would've made a better guy than you!"

The four guys erupted into laughter, obviously amused by their terrible insult.

"I mean, come on?! You gonna start crying on us now? You're such a baby," a different guy sneered.

"Yeah! Pathetic!" another chimed in happily.

Tadashi closed his eyes, trying to keep back the tears. He wasn't exactly sad: he knew all of this, he'd been told this before. But it was the pain that hurt, his stomach ached and he could feel fingernails digging into his arms. He wished that this would be over quickly.

Apparently his wish was granted, because the four boys went quiet, and the grip on his arms loosened significantly. Curious, but still cautious, he trained his ears to listen carefully.

"Pathetic," a rough voice repeated. A flurry of mumbles and murmurs came from the guys, almost trying to appease the fifth person. "Sorry, but that'd have to be you." At the second sentence, Tadashi's eyes flew open. He knew that voice, it had teased him countless times.

It was Tsukishima.

He didn't know if he had ever been as happy to see someone as he did right then. Tsukishima was an angel with blond hair and a smirk. He could feel himself relaxing as the grip on his arms left completely, and let himself rest on the wall.

Just the sheer presence of Tsukishima made the boys nervous. The blond was quite a bit taller than any of them, and he had an aura that would rival an angry bear. Of course, the guys didn't like being confronted as well: that was their thing, they confronted people. Not the other way around.

So when Tsukishima bent down slightly to get into their face, the four guys hightailed it out of there. Smart move, actually, Tsukishima thought to himself smugly. He didn't have the best of days that day. Finally, finally, did he acknowledge Tadashi. They stared at each other quietly, before Tadashi made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a squeak.

"What was that?" Tsukishima asked with a smirk. He knew exactly what was said.

"U-um, I said thanks," he repeated, this time a blush on his cheeks.

"Yeah. Those guys were pathetic," Tsukishima remarked, a sneer crossing his face for a millisecond. Tadashi frowned, he much prefered the smirk. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I guess," he mumbled in reply. Shuffling his feet slightly, he pushed off the wall and grabbed his lunch. Tadashi looked at Tsukishima, and seeing how he didn't have a lunch, decided to go off on a limb. "Do you wanna eat lunch with me, Tsukki?"

The second the pet name was said, Tadashi slapped both his hands over mouth in obvious horror. Before he could begin spewing any number of excuses and apologies, Tsukishima spoke first.

"Sure, Yamaguchi."

And there was no correction, no, "Don't call me Tsukki," or, "My name is Tsukishima." There was nothing in the form of distaste, only the ghost of a smirk on his face.


	2. Chapter 2

_Astronomia_

Chapter 2

In the past six months, Tadashi had picked up a new… habit, one could say, though it was more of a game. He wasn't entirely sure when he had started playing his counting game, but he knew it was somewhere during the few weeks after Tsukishima had scared off those bullies. It was kind of silly, but he found himself enjoying his little habit.

Tadashi had started counting the times where Tsukishima would blush.

Surprisingly, for such a stoic young man, he blushed quite easily. Though Tadashi didn't remember exactly when he started, or when it became second nature, he did remember the blush that started the entire thing. Actually, there had been two, but he remembered the encounter just the same.

Ever since Tsukishima had defended him from those stupid bullies and he had asked to eat lunch together, Tadashi had stuck like glue to his new friend. That started in November. Though not explicitly called friends, they both had an unspoken agreement of their relationship. They ate lunch every day together, texted each other through boring classes, and talked about the most random things. Tadashi was an honorary member of the astronomy club, and everyone in the theater club associated Tsukishima as "that one friend of Yamaguchi's."

The two were hardly ever seen separated, and people had taken notice. On a normal school day, just like all the others, they sat down to eat lunch together. Tsukishima had snorted, pointing out that, yet again, Tadashi's lunch consisted of a peanut butter jelly sandwich, and where was he getting the rest of his nutrients? He was going to respond with some type of sassy remark, but was distracted by a group of girls giggling. Not a funny giggle, but one of those gossip type giggles. They shuffled over to the two teenagers and giggled again, which Tsukishima gladly scowled at.

"Oh, my god, you guys are too cute!" One of the girls squealed, clapping her hands together. The three other girls nodded excitedly, shoving each other playfully to continue the conversation. The two boys were looking up at them, Tadashi with a confused face, and Tsukishima with yet another scowl.

"You two are like, a married couple," a second girl explained, biting her lip. Another girl nodded again, and pushed the girl forward, making her continue speaking, "Like, you share food and are joined at the hip. It's ridiculously cute! Tell us, are you two dating?"

Tadashi sputtered, trying to form a coherent response, waving his hands in the air desperately. He looked at his friend, who, while he wasn't butchering the English language, was blinking in confusion, his face blossoming into a very, very prominent blush. Deciding that he wanted to be the only one to see the blush, Tadashi composed himself.

"Sorry girls, we're not," he explained sweetly, and faked a glance over their shoulders, "But I think I just saw a guy waving at one of you. He looked like he wanted to ask you guys something, I dunno."

"What?! Really?" One of the girls asked, spinning around. Noticing the empty spot, the entire group turned and one of them called over their shoulder, "Well, have a good lunch!" before running off to find the guy.

For once, Tadashi thanked whatever gods out there for his innocent face, otherwise that totally wouldn't have worked.

"They gone?" Tsukishima mumbled, unwilling to look his friend in the eyes. When the coast was clear, he looked back up, putting on his natural expression - a frown. Seeing Tadashi smile - no, it was more of a smirk, - he knew something was wrong. "What?"

"You blushed."

"What?" he repeated dumbly.

"You blushed when the girls asked if we were dating," Tadashi explained, still smiling. The blush had definitely faded from the confrontation, but he could almost see it coming back. Adding fuel to the flame, with his best innocent puppy expression, he commented, "It was kinda cute."

_Ah, there it is,_ he thought to himself, suppressing a triumphant grin. _Blush number two, and it is just as glorious._

And from that moment, he had begun counting Tsukishima's blushes, because how could he not? His friend was ridiculously adorable when he blushed, he couldn't just ignore them! There needed to be some kind of acknowledgement, and so, he began counting them.

Of course, there were certain blushes that were more memorable than others, but Tadashi loved all of them. Although, this might be due to the fact that the majority of them were caused by or because of himself, but either way, there were some that he would never forget. Actually, in the past months since they had met, he had taken notice of his five favorite blushes, and they were all very cute.

Blush #1 and #2 were a few weeks after they had became unspoken companions, in late November. Considering they were the first blushes he had ever witnessed, they were apart of his top five favorite blushes so far (only as one blush, though).

His next favorite occurred about a week into December.

* * *

><p>Blush #7.<p>

Again, it was a normal school day, and they were eating lunch together. They ate comfortably, talking about nothing in particular. Two guys came up to them, and slapped Tsukishima on the back, the way only guys can.

"Hey, Tsukki!" One of them announced, his smile 100 watts. "Can I copy your math homework? Cuz man, I really need it, or else that jerk of a teacher's gonna gimme a detention."

"No," Tsukishima replied steely. Gripping the chair tightly, he pointedly ignored the two boys hovering over him. Tadashi just watched, intrigued and confused.

"Whyyy?" he whined in return, pouting. "C'mon man, why ya doin' this?"

"Only he can call me Tsukki," he answered, tone flat and eyes impatient. For added effect, he pointed at Tadashi.

"What? That's why you won't let me copy?" The teenager scoffed, crossing his arms. "You two are so gay for each other, wow. Thanks for your help, Tsukki."

Narrowing his eyes, and ignoring the blush that was obviously gaining momentum, he stood up and turned to stare his classmate down. Crossing his arms and looking intimidating in general, he leaned in and repeated with malice, "_Only he can call me Tsukki._" Tsukishima sat down, continued eating and started an easy conversation with Tadashi, his blush slowly fading. In his mind, Tadashi counted '_seven,' _but found he himself was also blushing.

They weren't harassed for the rest of the lunch period.

* * *

><p>Blush #23 happened somewhere in the middle of January. Tadashi had joined Tsukishima after school in the astronomy club room, since there was no after school practice at the moment. They chatted for a while over nothing, Tadashi watching as the group did something with constellations. He vaguely remembered someone mentioning astrology signs, and people getting into a discussion over it.<p>

Yawning, he decided he wasn't interested in astronomy unless it was with his friend, he tuned out the useless chatter. However, mere moments later he heard someone clearing their throat, and he opened his eyes to see Tsukishima sitting next to him. Somehow, Tsukishima managed to look both bored and nervous, so he raised his eyebrow in curiosity.

"So," he began, and cleared his throat again. "When's your birthday, Yamaguchi?"

Tadashi blinked in reply, confused at why that question would be hard to ask. He shook it off, smiling and easily answered, "My birthday's November 10th. It already passed, unfortunately."

"So you're a Scorpio," he mused aloud, almost smiling, and continued, "I'm a Libra."

"Great…?" Tadashi replied, not really understanding what the entire thing meant. It was quiet and he fidgeted, unnerved by the frown on Tsukishima's face, especially since it was directed at him.

"Our signs our compatible," he finally explained, still staring at his friend.

"What?" Tadashi gaped. Was Tsukki really suggesting what he thought he was suggesting? Apparently Tsukishima noticed the look on his face, understanding what he said could have meant, because his face turned bright red in a matter of seconds.

"That - that's not what I meant!" He declared, hands in the air, as if defending himself. Taking a calming breath, he slowed down and tried again, "I meant as friends! Yeah! We work really well together! As friends."

Before jumping into the conversation to try to calm his friend down, Tadashi did a mental check, noting '_blush #23' _and then smiling softly. After a few moments of his easy talking, they both had calmed down, and all the evidence of blush #23 was gone.

* * *

><p>Blush #57, one of his very favorite ones, happened at the end of March. It happened during lunch, because in all honesty, most of them did. Tadashi brought his regular PB&amp;J sandwich with some chips and a water bottle, completely aware of the smug glare Tsukishima was giving his lunch.<p>

"Are you glaring at me or my lunch, Tsukki?" he asked, slightly teasing.

"Both," he responded gruffly, still glaring. He was silent for a moment, debating something, before huffing in annoyance and he started to dig through his backpack. Tadashi paused mid-bite to stare at his friend in confusion. Tsukishima straightened up, taking a bag from his backpack and shoved it towards him, mumbling, "Here."

Of course, the blush on his face didn't go unnoticed as Tadashi easily counted #57. He turned his attention back to the mysterious bag and put his sandwich down to carefully open it. Looking inside, he took out what seemed to be a turkey sandwich, some carrots and ranch, a yogurt and a diet coke. He glanced up, still very confused.

"Eat it, it's yours," Tsukishima commanded, looking away. When Tadashi still didn't eat, he groaned and explained, "I'm tired of you eating peanut butter and jelly. Have a real lunch for heaven's sake."

"If you insist," Tadashi teased, and laid aside his lunch for the one made specially for him. He looked up, glad to see one of Tsukishima's rare smiles, and ate a carrot dipped in ranch. "Thanks. I really appreciate it."

When he grunted in response, Tadashi knew that he was only too shy to say you're welcome. Or admit he had done something nice. But either way, Tsukishima was his friend, and if he was being completely honest with himself, this turkey sandwich was way better than the PB&J he always ate.

* * *

><p>Now that he thought about it, the next blush in Tadashi's favorites was, although it seemed to be because of embarrassment, was also because he was scared of what Tadashi would think. That in of itself was enough to be in the top five blushes.<p>

Blush #89, even without the blush, was kind of a big occasion. It was the first time that Tadashi had been to Tsukishima's house, and inside his room. Tadashi vividly remembered that it was a warm day in the beginning of May, sunshine and blue skies all around.

They both didn't have any after school activities, so when they got to the house, no one was home. During the brief walk from the kitchen to Tsukishima's room, Tadashi learned that he had an older brother, but he was at college.

Stopping in front of a closed door, Tsukishima drummed his fingers on the doorknob in last minute jitters. Tadashi cocked his head, curious to see the inside of his best friend's room. Clearly, there was embarrassing details inside if he was nervous about showing his room. Taking a deep breath, he turned the doorknob and flung the door open.

Tadashi padded inside, socks sliding on the hardwood floors, followed closely by Tsukishima when he took a long look on the inside of the room. The first thing he noticed was a giant night sky map poster thing, taking up the entire length of a wall. It consisted of different constellations and stars, and it was probably how Tsukishima knew exactly where everything was located.

The second thing he noticed? Way, way too many encyclopedias on insects and posters of butterflies. Definitely way too many. In fact, Tadashi even thought he saw one of those ant farms he thought only people in tv shows owned.

Glancing back, he giggled.

"What?" Tsukishima demanded, annoyed. Tadashi waved his hand in the air, amused by his annoyance, and barely even noticed when he counted the 89th blush covering his cheeks. "Don't laugh at my stuffed dinosaurs. I know that's what you're laughing at."

"What?!" Tadashi exclaimed, "You have stuffed dinosaurs?! Where?"

Tsukishima put his head in his hands and sighed, defeated. He pointed to his bed, where several types of stuffed animal dinosaurs sat, and he grimaced when Tadashi squealed and ran towards them. Hiding a smile and trying to keep his ever composed scowl, he warned, "You better not use this information against me."

"No promises," he replied, looking up from the stuffed animals with a twinkle in his eyes. Tadashi petted the green t-rex affectionately and chuckled. Glancing back up at Tsukishima, he smiled and admitted, "It's kind of cute, actually."

When Tsukishima blushed again, he counted the 90th one, as well.


	3. Chapter 3

_Astronomia_

Chapter 3

It was interesting, Tadashi found himself thinking, the way people were instantly intimidated or scared by Tsukishima. In reality, it was the very opposite: he was actually a total dork, but just an amazing actor.

There had been a time where he was watching his friend from a distance, and Tsukishima's faced was etched in a near-permanent scowl. People had avoided him, putting more than enough space between the two parties. It was actually kind of funny, because the second Tadashi would walk up to him, the scowl would morph into something less malicious. Really, he was a dork, no one knew it. Tsukishima should be in the theater club, he mused to himself. He was ripped out of his thoughts when he heard a loud crash, and he turned to face the sudden noise.

"Crap, sorry, Tadashi," Tsukishima apologized, bending over to pick up the tv remote he had dropped on the floor. His heart fluttered, just a little bit. It hadn't been long since Tsukishima started calling him Tadashi, only a few days. Remembering how he had been so adorably scared asking if he could call him Tadashi, he was startled again when Tsukishima chuckled nervously. The other teen continued, "Was falling asleep there for a sec."

"Tsukki, if you're sleepy, you can go to bed. We don't have to finish the movie," he replied sympathetically. They were having their first sleepover at Tadashi's house, and they had already watched several movies and played a bunch of games. It was already nearly 1am, so it was understandable if they were tired.

"If you're sure…" Tsukishima trailed off, sighing in relief when his friend nodded. He flopped down onto the mini couch that was turned into a makeshift bed, burying his face in the pillow and groaning. Lifting his face up for a moment, he mumbled, "Don't stay up too late."

"I won't!" he sing-songed in reply, and sat on his bed, sifting through his email on his phone.

Tadashi distracted himself for a few minutes, comforted by Tsukishima's sleepy breaths, before noticing his pale arms in the soft glow of his phone. Frowning, he poked at his arm, slightly disgusted by all the freckles that literally covered his arms. Though he had only been told to his face once that his freckles were gross, he had heard many girls gossiping about how guys are much hotter without freckles or something equally rude and ridiculous.

After a few moments of self-hate and a downward spiral of how much he hated his freckles, he sighed and threw his head back, ungracefully hitting it on the bed frame. He groaned in pain and got up, disappointed in himself that he would spend another night hating his freckles. Sometimes he was able to go to bed, resisting the urge to insult himself, but apparently not that night.

Tadashi stood, slightly lopsided as his leg was asleep. He shook his leg, whining and trying to wake it up, before padding quietly over to his dresser and mirror combination. Taking a deep breath, he stared hard at himself in the reflection, mentally degrading his pale face of which stains littering every area. He poked a little too hard at one of the freckles, scratching it as if that would magically make it come off. He scratched, itched, prodded, poked, his skin turning red, but the freckles didn't fade.

They never did.

He removed his hand from his face, staring at the red spots on his face distastefully. When the red slowly disappeared and the freckles were only more apparent, he whimpered quietly and scratched harder. Maybe this time they would go away, he always told himself, maybe this time at least one would disappear.

But of course, they never did.

"Tadashi?" a voice sliced through the silence, breaking the hateful atmosphere he had formed. The voice continued, sleepy but harsh, "What are you doing?"

He jerked away from the mirror, tripping over his feet as he turned to face a very not-asleep Tsukishima, and chuckled nervously. Tsukishima was still lying down on his stomach, but his head was turned and watching Tadashi carefully, his gaze calculating. Tadashi stammered, "What, no, I wasn't doing anything."

The sleepy teenager groaned, his arms sliding in front of him and pushed him to a sitting position. He rubbed his eyes roughly, trying to force himself awake: he had a feeling that he would be need to be alert. Tsukishima eyed his friend carefully, uncertainty clear on his face. They were silent for a long time, just staring at each other, when Tadashi looked away and broke the silence.

"My freckles are gross," he whimpered.

"Okay," Tsukishima replied simply. He pushed himself off the makeshift bed and shuffled over to Tadashi's desk, roughly jerking a desk drawer open and rummaged for something. A question was on the tip of Tadashi's tongue, when the other young man grunted in satisfaction and waves a black marker in the air.

Before either of them could say anything, Tsukishima stalked over to his friend and firmly took Tadashi's wrist, pulling his right arm out in front of the two. He looked over the arm, carefully gauging the freckles, before humming in contentment. Tsukishima glanced up at his friend, enjoying the confused but intrigued expression he had, biting his lip, and took the marker cap off.

A line here. A line there. A line connecting that freckle to a different one.

Several strokes of the marker soon showed the Scorpio constellation on Tadashi's right arm. He gasped, looking up with sparkling eyes at Tsukishima, and opened his mouth to say something, but was stopped when Tsukishima shook his head.

"I really like astronomy," he explained offhandedly. The double meaning didn't go unnoticed as Tadashi blushed as Tsukishima let the right arm go, and brought the left arm out. He gazed at Tadashi's arm again, eyes flitting back and forth, looking for a pattern. Shaking his head, he chuckled, and once again connected another constellation with the freckles. When Tadashi finally realized what the constellation was, he laughed. It was glorious, the laugh and the way his eyes crinkled, and the extreme contrast to the Tadashi from mere moments ago.

The constellation?

Libra.

"You have Scorpio on your right arm, and Libra on your left," Tsukishima pointed out in amusement, though neither of them needed the explanation. He carefully, gently, almost lovingly, ran his fingers down Tadashi's arm, marveling in the shiver that was produced. His fingers paused at the Libra constellation on the forearm, before he chuckled and looked up, gazing into Tadashi's eyes. "Looks like I won't be getting rid of you for a while. We'll be with each other forever, apparently."

Tadashi looked upset, unsure, and just in general a big bundle of nerves and emotion. Tsukishima was waiting, actually expecting him to reply with something equally romantic and ridiculous, when Tadashi burst into giggles. The taller boy's face twisted into confusion and amusement, waiting as his friend held onto his shoulder, bent over, giggling like there was no tomorrow. When the giggles slowly turned into gasps, Tadashi looked up at his friend, his eyes wet, and a smile stretched from ear to ear.

"Tsukk~ii," Tadashi whined, drawing out the last vowel, "That was ridiculously cheesy! How did you even say that?"

"I don't, uh, I don't know? You were all sad and I, uh, didn't know what to do, and yeah..." Tsukishima stammered, seeming very flustered as he looked away, his face uncomfortably red. Ninety nine, Tadashi counted. He took a second to compose himself, and coughed awkwardly before facing Tadashi again. Very quietly, and definitely embarrassed, he continued, "Um, I kind of asked you out. Are you going to say yes?"

"Yes, yes of course!" Tadashi blurted immediately, no thought required.

"Oh, okay, good. Yeah, good," he stumbled in reply, and rubbed the back of his neck. He leaned forward slowly, as if not to scare the boy, and hugged him. Though both boys were blushing, Tsukishima's face flared even more red, incredibly embarrassed but pleased.

"One hundred," Tadashi murmured quietly, burying his face into the crook of Tsukishima's neck. He ignored the confused expression that adorned his boyfriend's face, instead reveling in the feeling of warmth and comfort that radiated from the simple hug. He even smelled good.

* * *

><p>It was funny, Tadashi thought, the way people were instantly intimidated by Tsukishima. It was funny the way people always labeled him as the 'big scary kid', or 'that one asshole.' It was funny how easily Tsukki could fool everyone else. It was funny, because none of it was true. Tsukishima was just a teenage boy who liked astronomy and dinosaurs just a little too much. He was just a teenage boy who didn't reach out to people and came off as cold when he didn't know how to respond. He was just a teenage boy who blushed at the silliest things, and he was just a teenage boy who knew Tadashi way too well.<p>

It was funny, Tadashi thought, that those people would never see Tsukishima the way he did. And it was funny, Tadashi thought, how that idea didn't bother him that much.


End file.
